Darla Hood

Darla Hood
Born Darla Jean Hood
November 8, 1931
Leedey, Oklahoma
Died June 13, 1979 (aged 47)
North Hollywood, California
Cause of death
 Acute hepatitis
Heart failure
Other names Cookie
Occupation Film actress
child actress
singer
Years active 1935-1979
Spouse(s) Robert W. Decker
(m.1949-1957; divorced)
Jose Granson
(m.1957-1979; her death)

Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 - June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of James Claude Hood and Elizabeth Davner. Her father worked in a bank and her mother was a music teacher.

Our Gang

Hood's mother introduced her to singing and dancing at an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma City. Just after her third birthday, she was taken to New York City, where she was seen by Joe Rivkin, a casting director for Hal Roach Studios, who arranged a screen test. She was then taken to Culver City, California, to appear in the Our Gang movies.

Hood played Darla in Our Gang. She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film Our Gang Follies of 1936 and was soon given a role in The Bohemian Girl with Laurel and Hardy. From 1935 to 1941, she continued to play in Our Gang. She is well remembered for her coquettish character, typically the love interest of Alfalfa, Butch, or (occasionally) Waldo. One of her most memorable moments was singing "I'm in the Mood for Love" in The Pinch Singer.

Hood's final appearance Our Gang film was 1941's "Wedding Worries".

After Our Gang

When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, Hood appeared in a couple of other movies and attended school in Los Angeles. While at Fairfax High School, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. Shortly after graduation, the quartet was booked by producer and star Ken Murray for his famous "Blackouts", a stage variety show. The group remained with Murray's Blackouts during its long run in New York and Hollywood.

Darla Hood then went out on her own with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. She was a regular on The Ken Murray Show from 1950 to 1951. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. She was a regular performer on The Merv Griffin Show for the American Broadcasting network in 1957, and had a hit record the same year, "I Just Wanna Be Free." Darla appeared in the movie Calypso Heat Wave (1957) singing a duet with Johnny Desmond. Between 1959 and 1962 she recorded several singles for the small Ray Note and Acama labels.[1]

In January 1959, Hood released a new record, Quiet Village. Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role, which was also her first adult role in a movie. She played a secretary in the suspense drama The Bat with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead.

Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as Tell It to Groucho and The Jack Benny Show, where she appeared on October 30, 1962 as "Darla" in a spoof of the Our Gang comedies with Jack Benny (who appeared as Alfalfa), and The Charlotte Peters Show in St. Louis. She did singing and voice-over on TV commercials, which included Campbell Soup and Chicken of the Sea tuna. She was also featured in The Little Rascals Christmas Special (1979) as the voice of Spanky and Porky's mother. She appeared in her own nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, the Copacabana in New York, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Death

Hood was busy organizing the 1980 Little Rascals reunion for the Los Angeles Chapter of The Sons of the Desert when she underwent an appendectomy at Canoga Park Hospital, Canoga Park, California. After the procedure, she died suddenly of heart failure on June 13, 1979; she was 47. An autopsy disclosed that Hood had contracted acute hepatitis from a blood transfusion given during the operation, leading to her death. Pierce Brothers Mortuary, of North Hollywood, California, handled the funeral arrangements.

She was survived by her husband, Jose Granson; parents, James Claude and Elizabeth Davner Hood; a son, Brett; a daughter, Darla Jo; and a stepdaughter, Robin.

The Our Gang community was stunned at Hood's unexpected death. Fellow Our Gang member Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas said, "I hate to hear it. It's a shock. She was an awfully nice person, a fine woman. We got along real good as kids." Thomas himself would die a little over a year later.[2] During a lecture at Murray State University in 1985, George "Spanky" McFarland attributed her death to a broken heart.

Hood is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood.

Personal life

Hood was married twice. Her first marriage was to insurance salesman Robert W. Decker (1949-1957). Her second was to record company executive, Jose Granson (1957-1979). She and Granson had three children. Tommy "Butch" Bond mentioned that her marriage to Granson was difficult because Granson used a wheelchair following a stroke.[3]

In popular culture

Knock on wood we all stay good
'Cause we all live in Hollywood
With Dracula and Darla Hood
Unspoken words were understood

References

  1. ↑ http://www.45cat.com/artist/darla-hood
  2. ↑ Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, p. 274. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-58325-9
  3. ↑ Bond, Tommy and Genini, Ron (1994). Darn Right It's Butch: Memories of Our Gang/The Little Rascals, p. 71; Delaware: Morgan Press. ISBN 0-9630976-5-2

External links